Monday, June 27, 2011

ALA Day 1 Recap: Goodies and Good Times

Hi, folks! Sorry I haven't posted anything in...well, forever, but I've been at the ALA Conference in NOLA for the past few days. Let me tell you, if you ever get the chance to go to any sort of conference, whether it's ALA, TLA or BEA, do it. While it's fun getting books and goodies, the best part is meeting/hanging out with all the amazing bloggers out there, especially the ones you know and talk to, but have never really met. I LOVE Y'ALL SOMETHING FIERCE!!!

Now, after a long 6 hour drive, we decided to explore the city. New Orleans has a lot of culture and delicious seafood!

After spending 1.5 days hanging out with my super awesome boyfriend, it was time to get down to business and head over to the convention center. On Friday, the convention center was only open for 2 hours (5:30-7:30), but that was more than enough time to do some serious damage. While exploring with Cynthia from A Blog About Nothing, we ran into this guy right here:

JAY ASHER!!! Our conversation pretty much went like this:

Me: *looks at the Harper books/booths* AHHH, JAY ASHER!!! I LOVE YOU!!!Him: *smiles politely*Me: Can I get a picture with you?Him: Of course!Me: I think I'm going to pee myself.Him: Please don't.

I pretty much destroyed whatever dignity I had left. Little did I know, this would not be my last Jay (that's right, we're on a first name basis) encounter.

So, moving on. Since we had the Egmont launch party to attend, we left the convention center at 6:30 and started getting ready. Let me tell you, Egmont throws one heck of a classy party. We're talking free drinks, yummy snacks and an awesome author who made me want to run home and immediately read her book. Isla J. Bick is the author of Ashes, a post apocalyptic novel about a girl named Alex who has to find a way to survive in this new world and avoid "The Changed." Did I mention there's a girl named Lena in the book? Sweetsauce!! Special thanks to Isla and her publicists for their generosity, champagne with strawberries, and sheer awesomeness. We had a great time!

After that, it was dinner time, and we wanted some GOOD non-seafood food. Thus, we stumbled upon Leonardo's, an awesome Italian restaurant with at least a dozen tvs, playing various Italian inspired movies (The Godfather, Scarface, etc). And the food? Delicioso!

After that, we were all pretty much spent, so it was time to head back to the hotel, call it a D-A-Y, and rest up for the next day. Now, I know what you're thinking, "DANG IT, WHAT DID YOU GET FROM ALA?!" Well, after blacking out for 15 minutes on the exhibition floor, I finally came to and realized I had 2 huge, very full bags of books to lug back to the hotel. Thank goodness for cabs! Want to see a picture?

Do you?

Okay! Here is a pic of my Day 1 stash:

I'm definitely super excited about all these books, especially The Scorpio Races, Variant, Smoke & Bones, Every You Every Me, Dear Bully, Life Eternal, Juliet Immortal, Eve and Glow.

That's it for day one! Stay tuned for my day 2 recap, and quite possibly, a giveaway of some sort. LOVE Y'ALL!!!

(P.S. I tried editing a lot of these pictures, however, photobucket is not being very friendly and is posting the "before editing" photo instead. Sorry Christin, you're fettuccine pic was cropped b/c photobucket is cruel:( )

@Yani- It was actually quite easy speaking with the publishers. They were really patient and organized. If one couldn't talk to you or speaking with someone else, another was there. I was surprised. Plus, Librarians? Angels!

LOL I love the pink flower!! =D AND OMG you got Juliet Immortal. I didn't even think to go by the Random House booth that night so I missed out on it. =( But oh well. I got some other fantastic books I did not expect to get. Great recap of the first night!!!

I really need to convince my mom to take me to ALA midwinter in Dallas this year but she is worried about ice storms. Must try another tactic...